Follow the author of this article

Follow the topics within this article

Serial killer Stephen Port will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murders of four young gay men.

Relatives of the victims cheered and clapped as Mr Justice Openshaw told Port he would never be released.

One woman in the public gallery of the Old Bailey courtroom called the impassive Port a "scumbag".

The 41-year-old chef stalked his victims on dating websites and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of the drug GHB to rape them while they were unconscious.

He dumped their bodies in or near a graveyard within 500 metres of his flat in Barking, east London, and embarked on an elaborate cover-up.

He disposed of their mobile phones, repeatedly lied to police and planted a fake suicide note in the hand of one of his victims, taking the blame for the death of another.

Serial killer Stephen Port who was found guilty at the Old BaileyCredit:
Metropolitan Police

The deaths of Jack Taylor, Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari and Daniel Whitworth over 15 months bore striking similarities but police failed to make the link until relatives of his final victim demanded answers.

Following a trial, Port was found guilty of the murders after a jury deliberated for 28 hours and 27 minutes. He was also convicted of a string of sex offences against seven other men who came forward following his arrest.

A man in the public gallery shouted at Port: "I hope you die a long slow death you piece of s--t."

The judge told Port that he had carried out the murders to "satisfy his lust" for sex with young men who were rendered unconscious.

He highlighted Port's attempt to cover up two of his murders with a fake suicide notes as "wicked and monstrous".

Earlier, statements from the loved ones of the four murder victims and one of Port's sex assault victims were summarised by prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC.

The mother of Mr Walgate said the death of her son had "devastated and broken the family".

Adam, only brother of Mr Kovari spoke of the difficulty in telling their mother of his death, saying "there is no pain greater than losing a child".

Mandy Pearson, centre, and Adam Whitworth, right, the stepmother and father of victim Daniel Whitworth speak after the verdict was deliveredCredit:
Getty Images

Daniel Whitworth's father Adam said he had been given "a life sentence of grief".

The family of Jack Taylor told how his murder had turned their lives "upside down".

Mr Rees said the Taylor family had been "a model and picture of dignity" in the trial – a view agreed by the judge.

A sex attack victim, who cannot be identified, told how he blamed himself for not reporting the assault sooner saying he could have avoided Mr Taylor's death if he had.

In mitigation, David Etheridge QC, said that on the jury verdicts, in this period of his life, Stephen Port "descended into a vortex" in which drug taking fuelled his private life with satisfaction of his sexual desire.

"He graduated from a fetish to a fixation, from a fixation to a compulsion," he said.

Stephen Port used gay dating websites to lure men to his flatCredit:
PA

Following Port's conviction on Wednesday, Commander Stuart Cundy said he had written a letter of condolence to the loved ones of the young men and apologised for "missed opportunities".

A total of 17 officers are being investigated over their handling of the case, seven of whom could face the sack if found to be guilty of gross misconduct.

The force is now re-examining 58 unexplained deaths involving the drug GHB from a four-year period across London to make sure that foul play has not been missed in any other cases.